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K-State downplays hype of facing KU

Wildcats one game ahead of Jayhawks in Big 12 race

Kansas State guard Rodney McGruder (22) passes around Kansas guard Travis Releford during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Manhattan. The next matchup will be in Allen Fieldhouse Monday.

Kansas hopes guard Elijah Johnson, front, can break his current slump and help the Jayhawks end their losing streak against Shane Southwell and rival Kansas State.

LAWRENCE — First place in the Big 12 Conference is at stake, as well as position in the national rankings and statewide bragging rights as ESPN rolls into town for a Big Monday basketball game between Kansas State and Kansas.

K-State, for the first time since 1988, is ahead of KU in the standings entering their Sunflower Showdown and a Wildcat victory would give them a two-game lead over the Jayhawks.

The game has major implications for the Wildcats, but you wouldn't know it from their attitude. At least not their public stance after a victory over Iowa State on Saturday.

"We have to treat it like any other game," K-State guard Rodney McGruder said. "You can't say ‘oh, man, we've got Kansas’ and get wrapped up in the rivalry and things like that. We have to treat it just like it's Iowa State or Oklahoma State.

"People always try to amp that Kansas game up more than any other game. It's just any other game, and I feel like we're prepared. We were prepared (Saturday), and we're going to be prepared on Monday."

K-State (19-4, 8-2 Big 12) is riding a four-game winning streak while KU (19-4, 7-3) has lost three in a row. Those streaks should just about flip the teams from last week's national rankings — the Jayhawks were No. 5 and the Wildcats No. 13 — when this week's poll is released Monday.

"It feels good to be ranked but that's not our goal," Wildcat point guard Angel Rodriguez said. "Our goal is to win the Big 12. We could be unranked, and if we win the Big 12, that's what we want and that's what we work for."

The Wildcats could take a big step toward achieving their goal with a victory in the 8 p.m. game at Allen Fieldhouse. History, though, is not on their side. They have won only three of the past 48 games against KU, including a 59-55 loss Jan. 22 in Manhattan, and just once in their last 18 trips to Lawrence.

"I know it's a big rivalry, but I don't think they would make a big deal like this if we were going to play another team," Rodriguez said. "We have to treat it like another game.

"Everybody is talking about you guys are in first place and all that, but we're pretty much halfway through the Big 12 so there's a lot of games left. Does it feel good? Yeah, but we can't settle because it's a long season."

Coach Bruce Weber wants his team to enjoy the journey while keeping it in perspective.

"It's great to be in first place but the last game is when it matters," Weber said after the 79-70 victory over Iowa State. "Right now it's fun, it's great for the kids. I told them to enjoy it, enjoy each other and have fun, keep fighting. That's all we can do and worry about the task at hand. Today it was Iowa State and now you can take a deep breath and get ready for Kansas."

Weber expects to face a motivated Jayhawk team set on breaking the slump, rather than one tormented by a three-game slide against Oklahoma State, TCU and Oklahoma.

"They're good," he said. "When they came here, their coaches talked to our coaches and said, 'We're not sure how good we are, but we believe we can win.' Once they got the one loss, it kind of knocked them off their pedestal.

"They're going to be back. They are good, and Bill (Self) is a great coach. We can't worry about how they're playing, we have to worry about what we're doing and come ready to play."

This will be Weber's first visit to Allen Fieldhouse.

"I've never been there, but I've watched it on TV," he said. "They're going to be fired up. They're hurting, and they're going to play at a high level. We just have to go play basketball the way we've played. We're going to have to play a really good ballgame to win there.

"We have to focus on defense. That's the thing that's kept us in games. I would like to say we can't be intimidated but that's going to be a key thing, blocking out the crowd. We've won on the road so we'll just go after it and see what happens."